Joty seeks franchise owners’ attention for women’s T20 league in Bangladesh

|| CF CORRESPONDENT  ||

In 2018, Bangladesh's women cricketers showcased their prowess on the grand stage by clinching the Asia Cup. Since then, the women's cricket scene in Bangladesh has been steadily advancing.

The last year stands out as one of the most remarkable for women's cricket in the country. Notably, the team secured victories in T20Is against India on home soil and drew the ODI series. They further triumphed in ODIs against Pakistan and sealed the T20I series.

Bangladesh, the bronze medalists in the Asian Games, achieved a historic milestone by winning the ODI and T20I series in South Africa for the first time in the Tigresses’ history.

Captain Nigar Sultana Joty takes pride in leading this talented group, expressing her aspiration for a domestic T20 league ahead of the upcoming T20I World Cup scheduled for later in 2024 in Bangladesh.

Joty shared her thoughts on the potential franchise league in an exclusive interview with Cricfrenzy.

“We've discussed this. BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) is ambitious about it, but I don't know how much practical implementation there will be. A few days ago, when I had a meeting with the Chairman (BCB President Nazmul Hassan Papon), we raised this issue. He asked me, "Joty, how many teams can you manage?" He expressed personal interest about it. I said, "Look, sir, since we are relatively new, having 3-4 teams would be good. At least there should be healthy competition among the teams." Joty said.

Compared to men’s cash-rich franchise tournaments, women’s franchise leagues (WPL, Women’s Big Bash, CPL) are not that sparkling. Joty urged Bangladesh’s franchise owners to step forward to create a women’s league as they have been running the men’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for years.

“Here, franchises need to play a significant role. If they want to buy our teams, it will be good because when the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) happens, the women get one league per year."

"When foreign cricketers come to play in Bangladesh, our players will have the opportunity to play in their countries too. This will create a lot of opportunities. Certainly, the more we play in the T20 format, the more we can progress. If this happens before the World Cup, then we can contribute even more,” Joty added.